US President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a great man” and “a friend,” while hinting that he may visit India next year to further strengthen trade ties between the two nations, according to news agency ANI.
Speaking to reporters at the White House after announcing a new deal to lower the prices of weight loss drugs, Trump said his talks with PM Modi were "going great."
"He (PM Modi) largely stopped buying from Russia. And he is a friend of mine, and we speak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great man. He is a friend of mine, and we speak and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out, I will go... Prime Minister Modi is a great man and I will be going," Trump said.
When asked directly if he planned to travel to India next year, Trump replied, "It could be, yes."
Earlier, a person aware of the developments told ET that intense negotiations are underway to finalise the framework for the highly anticipated trade deal.
On October 23, negotiators of both countries had a virtual discussion. So far, five rounds of talks have been completed since March for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, initially decided to be inked by the "fall of 2025."
The agreement, formally proposed in February following directives from leaders of both countries, aims to more than double trade volumes from the current $191 billion to $500 billion by 2030.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in the United States in September, leading high-level trade negotiations as both nations work toward concluding a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement. Goyal was accompanied by a delegation of senior ministry officials including Special Secretary and India's Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal.
In mid-September, a team of United States officials led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, had "positive and forward-looking" discussions with the officials from India's Department of Commerce in New Delhi, and it was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement.
Over the past few months, India and the US have been actively negotiating for the interim trade deal.
US President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Indian shipments to US along with additional penalty of 25% citing India's purchase of Russian oil. India imports about 34% of crude oil from Russia, while about 10% of the country's current oil and gas needs are imported from the US. Trump wants India to cut down Russian oil purchases, and switch to US and its allies for the same.
When asked if the two sides are sticking to the November deadline to conclude the negotiations, Piyush Goyal said: "There is every possibility".
The US is India’s biggest merchandise importer. Also, it is one of the few major economies with which New Delhi generally runs a trade surplus. India’s exports to the US stood at $86.51 billion in FY25, making it India’s largest market for merchandise shipments.
Source Name : Economic Times